Dissertations / Theses: 'Outdoor learning'

1

Ayeme, Bukola. "Teachers` Perception of Outdoor Learning : Benefits and Challenges of Outdoor Learning." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för beteendevetenskap och lärande, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-166745.

Full text

Abstract:

Outdoor learning has become very visible in recent times ,it is seen in different public medias such as magazines, on television, on various websites on internet, in the press and on public notice boards in different countries, accompanying different advertisements displaying a healthy lifestyle especially in early years of studies ( preschool ).The author seeks to address the perception of Erasmus project “Dehors ” teachers` experience outdoor, focusing majorly on the benefits and difficulties that these preschool teachers face while teaching outdoors. Furthermore, teachers are known to be role-models for their students and their opinion about their jobs matters a lot in displaying their duties as educators. Preschool children aged 0-6 years spend more time in school more than home, at least a minimum of five days in a week so ultimately attitudes of teachers largely have a positive or negative effect on school children. The aim of the present dissertation project is to explore how the teachers perceive outdoor learning based on their experiences outdoors. This study explored the components that characterize teachers` perception of outdoor learning. This research includes two set of interviews which were used to investigate both teachers` outdoor activities performed in Latvia and Swedish preschools. Outdoor learning has made a distinctive difference between the traditional learning approach of “stand and deliver” model which has systematically been changed to “guide on the side” model which educationalist view as a good method of impacting knowledge to learners, instead of giving knowledge as it was practiced before but in recent times, outdoor leaning processes helps to create an atmosphere for co-learning and not an isolated endeavours which is gradually been replaced by outdoor learning approach of “tell me and I will forget with “show me and I will remember”. These results provided a great insight on teachers` experiences of outdoor learning in the nature and on asphalt. It can be concluded that outdoor learning approach can be adaptable in the Latvian and Swedish contexts in promoting the development of preschool teachers therefore, there is a need for further research to promote effectiveness of outdoor teaching in Latvia and Swedish preschools.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

2

Zhang, Jingyang. "Cooperative Learning in Outdoor Education." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Nationellt centrum för utomhuspedagogik (NCU), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-104699.

Full text

Abstract:

Interpersonal growth is one part of the definition of outdoor education. Collaboration and common purpose are key phrases in cooperation learning. Both those two teaching methods are including students’ social development. To find out the effects of teachers’ and students’ attitude toward cooperative learning in outdoor education, this study explores the benefits and limitations of group work in outdoor education theoretically. Also, this study explores the attitudes of teachers and students regarding group work in outdoor learning. Questionnaires were used to find the students’ opinion of group work in outdoor education, during the analysis of data, thematic analysis was conducted with interview data to find out teachers’ attitudes. The participates of this study mainly had a very positive attitude towards group work in outdoor education, although some limitations were identified, such as students sometimes lost focus, were absent or were less involved.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

3

Thompson, Deborah R. "Life Science: An Outdoor Learning Approach." UNF Digital Commons, 1986. http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/61.

Full text

Abstract:

The instructional materials prepared for this project are based on outdoor activities that correlate with the Duval County, Florida, Performance Objectives for Life Science in the seventh grade. Special emphasis is placed on hands-on, sensory experiences and observations, and sequencing of instruction within lessons. The review of related literature includes the philosophy of outdoor/environmental education, a historical perspective of outdoor/environmental education, and learning theory as it applies to the principles and practices of an outdoor approach to education.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

4

Laird, Alexandra. "Engagement and Outdoor Learning in Mathematics." Thesis, Griffith University, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/381366.

Full text

Abstract:

Engagement is a multifaceted concept that has been a growing concern for researchers, particularly in mathematics education (Attard, 2012; Chan, Baker, Slee, & Williamson, 2015). In recent years, mathematics education has been seen as boring and dull, and many students have disengaged from a relatively early age in learning and participating in mathematics (Grootenboer & Marshman, 2016). Therefore, this is an important issue, as low levels of engagement among students can put them at risk of decreased participation and, ultimately, low levels of academic achievement (Fredrick et al, 2004). The study reported here was conceptualised using a theoretical framework that included three dimensions of engagement; emotional, behavioural, and cognitive, and these were used to structure the data collection and analysis vis-à-vis learning mathematics outdoors. This comparative case study involved 34 students from two year 6 classes at a Queensland state primary school. The findings indicated that the students were engaged in their mathematics learning in the outdoor context. However, there was no compelling evidence that suggested the outdoor environment was any more emotionally, behaviourally, or cognitively engaging than the indoor context. There were, however, hints that emotional engagement was facilitated in the outdoor environment as students enjoyed the novelty of it, being able to ‘move around’, and also working in pairs/groups. Nonetheless, this requires further investigation in future research. What was clear from this study was that there were benefits for student engagement when learning mathematics outdoors and that participating in a variety of learning experiences can be seen as valuable for both students and teachers.
Thesis (Masters)
Master of Education and Professional Studies Research (MEdProfStRes)
School Educ & Professional St
Arts, Education and Law
Full Text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

5

Taniguchi, Stacy T. "Outdoor education and meaningful learning : finding the attributes of meaningful learning experiences in an outdoor education program /." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 2004. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd438.D.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

6

Taniguchi, Stacy Tooru. "Outdoor Education and Meaningful Learning: Finding the attributes of meaningful learning experiences in an outdoor education program." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2004. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/164.

Full text

Abstract:

This phenomenological study sought to identify the common attributes of meaningful learning experiences as found in an outdoor education program. The pragmatic educational philosophy of John Dewey provides the rationale for the essence of meaningful learning in our schools and this research identifies the attributes of educative reflective experiences that are also meaningful learning experiences. Thirteen students enrolled in the Wilderness Writing Program, offered during the fall semester of 2003 at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, made up the focus group of this study. Their participation in four outdoor recreational activities and their reflections about their experiences became the basis of this research. Through written journal entries, focus group discussions, observations, and writing assignments, this study took a qualitative approach to identifying patterns of attributes that appeared to occur in meaningful learning experiences. This study found that meaningful learning experiences were identified by participants who experienced a period of awkwardness followed by a purifying process, or sublimation. A reflective period allowed for reconstruction of a person 19s view of himself or herself and this was closely tied with feedback from others in the group. The findings of this study can give educators specific components that appear to be crucial ingredients to meaningful learning experiences.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

7

Stan, Ina Teodora. "Group interaction in the 'outdoor classroom' : the process of learning in outdoor education." Thesis, Bucks New University, 2008. http://bucks.collections.crest.ac.uk/10117/.

Full text

Abstract:

This research is concerned with the educational process within an outdoor centre involving groups of primary school children. It studies group interaction between the participants in a natural setting by taking a holistic approach, giving an account of their outdoor learning experience in the context of a group. It appears that there is little focus on groups in the outdoors, even though most outdoor programmes involve groups. Most of the research done on groups is quantitative and laboratory based. Such traditional approaches have been challenged, as empirical limitations and theoretical problems have been identified. It is argued that a study of group interactions within a natural environment, such as the outdoor classroom, would allow for a more insightful understanding of the phenomena involved, and it could also shed light on the outdoor educational process, which has been neglected by research in outdoor education. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were used as part of an ethnographic approach. This enabled the collection of varied data, which resulted in a thick description of the phenomena explored. The findings show that the concept of team building is central to the philosophy of the outdoor centre and of its staff. The activities, which are used as learning tools, are group orientated. Teamwork is seen as essential for the learning experience at the outdoor centre. The study also revealed that the different approaches of the participants influenced the way learning was constructed. The two main themes that have emerged were empowerment and control. The empowering approaches offered support and encouragement to the participants, allowing for collaboration and cooperation to exist between them, which enabled learning to be more effective. The controlling approaches were characterised by a lack of dialogue between the participants, which interfered with the learning experience, by not creating an environment where the participants could work together as a group. A social aspect of learning was thus identified, which emphasised the importance of viewing learning as a joint process. The research shows that a well-designed process does not always result in the participants achieving the ‘desired learning outcomes’. The teachers/facilitators need to be aware of the impact that their approach may have on the learning experience of the participants.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

8

Eaton, Dennis. "Cognitive and affective learning in outdoor education." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0005/NQ41587.pdf.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

9

King, Nicole M. "An analysis of teachers' perceptions about outdoor learning." Online version, 2008. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2008/2008kingn.pdf.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

10

Polistina, Kim Joanne. "Outdoor Learning: A Theory of Community-Based Pro-Environmental Learning Through Leisure." Thesis, Griffith University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366542.

Full text

Abstract:

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a theory of outdoor learning grounded in the everyday lives of community-based groups and individuals in Australian Western society. The groups involved in this research where from appreciative outdoor leisure and Indigenous communities in Queensland, Australia. These community-based groups engaged with environmental learning and education through non-formal or informal means of sharing pro-environmental knowledge and values. The theory discussed in this thesis was grounded in the outdoor lifestyles of the people involved in this research and examined the epistemological underpinnings of these lifestyles. The outdoor learning that the people in this research implemented on an ongoing basis expanded their own pro-environmental knowledge and values and also assisted others in society to increase their pro-environmental knowledge and values. This research identified that the outdoor learning practices of those in this research were linked intricately to their outdoor leisure and related everyday activities. A model of the symbiotic relationship between outdoor lifestyle contexts, outdoor leisure settings and outdoor learning practices has been developed. The participatory nature of the research and the development of the theoretical framework of outdoor learning required grounded theory methodology supported by a sub-action research process. This dual methodology process combined with the social action or change aim of the research and the need for critical reflection on the neoliberalist social system currently dominant in Australia firmly established the research within the critical theorist (structural) and social action/interpretivist paradigms. The compatibility of the dual methodology enhanced the ability of the research to provide the best possible avenue for voicing the worldviews of appreciative outdoor recreationists and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples involved in this research. Twenty-nine non-Indigenous appreciative outdoor recreationists and nineteen Indigenous people were involved in this research. People discussed their lives, the environmental worldviews that underpinned them and their outdoor learning practices. Information was also gathered on the constraints imposed by the neoliberalist ideals of the Australian social system on the outdoor learning practices of the people in this research. This thesis also addressed gaps in the literature on the characteristics of community-based environmental education. In this literature people within the community are represented as those to be educated by formal education advocates rather than those who were able to be educators in their own right. The theory developed in this thesis rejected this 'learner' or 'student' label and explained how the people in this research implemented their own educator role through their outdoor learning practices that were manifested in their outdoor lifestyles and their appreciative outdoor leisure settings. The theoretical framework developed in this thesis explained the implementation of non-formal and informal outdoor learning practices that supported a two-way dialogue of pro-environmental knowledge and values being shared between people with pro-environmental knowledge and values and others with a growing interest. The social context for this two-way dialogue was found in the outdoor network groups with whom the people in this research interacted. These appreciative outdoor leisure and social networks provided strength for the maintenance of subcultures and cultures, working within the dominant Australian Western culture, to increase the environmental literacy of the wider social group. The strength of commitment to their outdoor learning practices was highlighted in the resilience and loyalty to the continuation of these practices despite strong constraints imposed by the maintenance of neo-liberalist ideologies in Australian society. This research indicated a number of Australians implement pro-environmental values, through their outdoor lifestyles, rather than supporting the economic rationalist values of materialism. This thesis has theorised the community-based outdoor learning practices adopted by particular appreciative outdoor recreationists and Indigenous Australians living in Queensland. Their voices contribute to the broader outdoor and environmental education discourse. This thesis has also validated appreciative outdoor leisure as a prominent setting for outdoor learning of pro-environmental knowledge and values and highlighted the valuable contribution leisure could make to the environmental education agenda in Australian society.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith Business School
Full Text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

11

Yancey, Charles L. "The implementation of outdoor education." [Denver, Colo.] : Regis University, 2007. http://165.236.235.140/lib/CYanceyPartI2007.pdf.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

12

Lehtinen, Jesper. "Tre pedagogers och elevers attityd om utomhuspedagogik : En kvalitativ studie om utomhuspedagogikens plats i skolans tidiga år." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Lärarutbildningen, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-15515.

Full text

Abstract:

The study is of qualitative research method, where the interviews are the main material for the study. This study aims to analyze teachers and pupils perspectives on outdoor education in the early years of the elementary school. The main reason for this study is that all the literature in the area tends to lift up the positive aspects of the field. While the practice of education tends to go the other way, where the majority of our children’s classes takes place inside the classrooms. Thus we are left with a contradictory school environment. To examine the reasons why outdoor education gets the role (or lack of role) it gets I have formed these questions as guidelines: In what way does teachers use outdoor education? Where does the school board stand in the issue? How do teachers reflect on their own teacher training, and what role did outdoor education play? What do the students think about outdoor education? What perspectives of the term “learning” do the students have? The result of the study is that the lack of education for the teachers, and the fear of not having the time to do all that needs to be done lead to a culture in schools where outdoor education gets prioritized beneath other forms of learning, thus gets a lower status.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

13

Fägerstam, Emilia. "Space and Place : Perspectives on outdoor teaching and learning." Doctoral thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för beteendevetenskap och lärande, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-81318.

Full text

Abstract:

This thesis aims to explore teachers’ and students’ experience and perception of outdoor teaching and learning. Further, it aims to explore influences of outdoor teaching on academic performance in biology and mathematics. The contexts for the thesis are a Swedish high school and Australian environmental education centres. The empirical material comprises student and teacher interviews, and questionnaires and tests answered by students. Theoretical frames of reference are theory of place and three dimensions of learning: content, social and emotional dimensions of learning. The results reveal that the extended physical space had the potential to improve social relations and increase participation, collaboration and on-task communication. However, teachers witnessed a period of up to three months before the students adjusted to outdoor teaching. During that time disciplinary issues were a concern. Teaches’ perceptions were that experience of specific places such as local natural environment was fundamental to forming a sense of belonging and environmental concern. However, teachers described children and students as unfamiliar with local natural environments. Teacher’s perceptions were that media provides knowledge about nature rather than direct experience and children and students were often uncomfortable or afraid in nature. Mathematics followed by language education were the subjects most regularly taught outdoors. Two studies compared classroom education with partly outdoor education in biology and mathematics. Results reveal that students’ performance was equally good, or more developed as a consequence of outdoor teaching. An overarching conclusion is that the possibility to appeal to cognitive, social and emotional dimensions of learning all at the same time has the potential to concretize and broaden the often theoretical approach of high school education, and to contribute to long term episodic memories and a desire to learn.
Denna avhandling syftar till att utforska lärares och elevers erfarenheter av, och uppfattningar om undervisning och lärande utomhus. Vidare syftar den till att undersöka vilken inverkan undervisning utomhus har på elevers resultat i biologi och matematik. Studierna är utförda i en svensk högstadieskola samt vid australiska miljöutbildningscentra. Det empiriska materialet består av elev- och lärarintervjuer samt enkäter och tester besvarade av elever. Det teoretiska ramverket utgår från platsteori samt ett lärandeperspektiv inkluderande tre dimensioner: innehållsliga, sociala och emotionella dimensioner av lärande. Resultaten visar att utemiljöns utvidgade fysiska rum har potential att förändra sociala relationer positivt och leda till ökat deltagande, samarbete, och kommunikation i ämnet Lärares erfarenhet var dock att det tog upp till tre månader innan eleverna var helt införstådda med utomhusundervisningens innebörd. Under den tiden var oordning i klassen ett hinder. Erfarenhet av specifika platser såsom lokal natur sågs av lärarna som väsentligt för elevernas platstillhörighet och miljöengagemang. Lärare vittnade dock om många elevers främlingskap inför lokala naturmiljöer. Kunskaper om naturen härstammade snarare från media än från egna erfarenheter och eleverna var ofta obekväma eller rädda i naturen. Matematik följt av språk var de ämnen som med störst regelbundenhet undervisades utomhus. I två delstudier jämfördes klassrumsundervisning med undervisning delvis utomhus i biologi och matematik. Resultaten visar på likvärdiga, eller mer utvecklade kunskaper som en följd av utomhusundervisning. En övergripande slutsats är att utomhusundervisningens möjligheter att samtidigt appellera till kognitiva, sociala och emotionella dimensioner av lärande kan konkretisera och vidga högstadieundervisningens teoretiskt inriktade innehåll samt bidra till långlivade episodiska minnen och en lust till lärande.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

14

Drexler, Stina. "Exploring the idea of an Outdoor Primary School : - from the perspective of West European Outdoor Education Professionals." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Pedagogik och didaktik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-157461.

Full text

Abstract:

As past research has found benefits of outdoor education and the current global society is facing a decline in access to beneficial natural spaces due to urbanization (Keniger, Gaston, Irvine & Fuller 2013), the aim of this master thesis research project was to explore the idea of an Outdoor Primary School, a way to provide children the access to beneficial natural spaces. In order to explore this idea, Professional Outdoor Educators (n= 61) were interviewed and asked to fill out a survey about the following aspects: outdoor and indoor spaces, learning activities, curriculum and challenges related to an Outdoor Primary School. There was a wide range of results showing that an Outdoor Primary School is a way to incorporate beneficial ways of learning, such as project-based learning, experience-based and practical learning, social learning, play and student-centered learning in formal schooling. Including learning content and activities that can aid children’s development such as food, animals and sustainability is also possible in an Outdoor Primary School as shown below. Furthermore, an Outdoor Primary School is an institution that can be equipped with beneficial learning environments, such as natural environments, a vast space, spaces for cooking, growing food and keeping animals, quiet zones, play zones and opportunities for creating, building and crafts. These results go in line with previous research about Outdoor Education and related fields, suggesting that an Outdoor Primary School both holds challenges but also is a possible model to bring together many beneficial ways of learning that are already being practiced today.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

15

Baker, Mark William. "Policy development of outdoor education in Scotland." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/21018.

Full text

Abstract:

The advent of the Scottish ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ created a new paradigm of outdoor education. The term ‘outdoor learning’ found more common parlance as a reflection of contemporary discourse with renewed focus on curricular breadth and progression in outdoor education. This thesis examines these changes through the lens of educational policy analysis. The study bridges the gaps between literature in the fields of outdoor education, public policy making and curriculum theory to present a broad and historical analysis of the processes for the policy development of outdoor learning in Scotland. The methodological approach is grounded in the philosophy of pragmatism, and combines desk based research with data analysis of thirteen interviews with key policy actors. The findings identify health as an early policy driver and a prelude to later policy agendas including ‘character training’, work and employment. The processes for change in outdoor education policy are influenced by ‘galvanising events’ and via a ‘policy corridor’ of outdoor education advocates. Post Scottish devolution, the work of advisory groups has been a key influence in resolving what is identified as a ‘policy squeeze’ on outdoor learning. The research has implications for effective lobbying and understanding the processes for policy growth in outdoor learning.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

16

Witthohn, Anna-Lena. "Outdoor Learning as a Chance for Preschool Children to become a ´We´ and an ´I´ : Preschool Teachers´ Perception towards Outdoor Learning in Swedish Preschools." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för beteendevetenskap och lärande, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-177847.

Full text

Abstract:

The study investigates preschool teachers’ individual perceptions towards outdoor learning in Swedish preschools. The aim is to understand how preschool teachers describe outdoor learning and which effects on children´s behavior are recognized. Furthermore, the study aims to highlight children particularly benefiting from learning outdoors. Therefore, semi-structured interviews following a qualitative research approach are hold in order to outline and evaluate the perceptions of seven preschool teachers working in southern Sweden. A literature review should allow a contextual location focusing on outdoor education and outdoor learning, the Swedish preschool curriculum, nature´s influence on human’s health and well-being and children with special needs. The interviews show that preschool teachers mainly recognize positive effects of learning outdoors regarding children´s social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. Outdoor learning offers children possibilities to play in bigger groups and seems to cause less conflicts. Little attention is put on negative effects only regarding outdoor surroundings. Preschool teachers identify two main character traits of children certainly benefiting from learning outdoors, referring to children needing increased movement and children indoors appearing shy and introverted. As possible explanations for positive effects of outdoor learning on children the preschool teachers mainly relate to larger space and increased feelings of freedom. Nature seems to provide possibilities for a lower distraction of the senses, allowing a clearer perception. Children´s ability to concentrate seems to increase through nature. Additionally, outdoors the opportunity of taking a timeout increases in order to allow children spending time alone.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

17

Shearon, Gregory Glenn. "Designing an outdoor learning lab for the elementary school setting." Virtual Press, 2001. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1244862.

Full text

Abstract:

The purpose of this creative project was to develop a master plan for an outdoor learning lab for Daleville Elementary School (DES) in Daleville, Indiana. Utilizing a formal design process, including surveys, case study research, and site analysis, the best solution was devised specific to the needs of DES. Along with a design team from Daleville, additional DES faculty responded to a written survey to validate requests for various features. Daleville students participated in a design workshop to express their own ideas for outdoor learning activities and features. A site analysis was conducted on the school grounds utilizing criteria set for features within the design program. Three concepts were generated, leading to the development of the master plan. The research and design process used to create the master plan have provided data suitable for further research and concepts for outdoor learning labs in the elementary school setting.
Department of Landscape Architecture

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

18

Timan, Sandra. "Utemiljön som undervisningsverktyg inom matematiken : En studie om fyra lärares uppfattningar och användning av utomhusmatematik i årskurs 1-3." Thesis, Mittuniversitetet, Avdelningen för ämnesdidaktik och matematik, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-28105.

Full text

Abstract:

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur lärares uppfattningar om utomhusmatematik som undervisningsmetod är i årskurserna 1-3 samt i vilken utsträckning de använder detta. De frågeställningarna som var bärande i studien var hur användandet av utomhusmatematik ser ut, vilka för- och nackdelar informanterna ser med utomhusmatematik, om något kunskapsområde inom matematiken lämpar sig bättre eller sämre vid användning av undervisningsformen samt om det är någon av de matematiska förmågorna eleverna lättare kan utveckla med detta. Metoden som tillämpades var kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra lärare vilka har arbetat olika länge samt arbetar i delvis olika årskurser och på olika skolor. Resultatet visade att användande av utomhusmatematik inte är allt för stort men intresset för undervisningsformen är desto större. En bidragande orsak till att det inte används är storleken på klasserna idag. En fördel som informanterna ser med undervisningsformen är att eleverna får arbeta konkret, praktiskt, röra på sig samt att de får frisk luft. Med hjälp av utomhusmatematiken anser informanterna att både kunskapsområdena inom matematiken och de matematiska förmågorna går att utveckla med utomhusmatematik.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

19

Wilhelmsson, Birgitta. "Teachers' intention for outdoor education : conceptualizing learning in different domains." Licentiate thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för naturvetenskapernas och matematikens didaktik, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-56495.

Full text

Abstract:

In Sweden there is a growing interest among teachers to locate teaching outdoors. This is linked to beliefs about the potential for outdoor environments to reinforce learning, since the encounter with nature becomes more holistic. Outdoors, all the senses are involved in knowledge-building and activity experiences. According to previous research, outdoor learning can lead to reinforcement between learning domains and provide a bridge to higher order learning. This thesis, comprising two papers, will focus on teachers’ intentions and educational objectives with outdoor learning, and how these educational objectives are implemented in outdoor activities. The alignment between teachers’ predefined objectives and the types of knowledge and cognitive processes reflected in the outdoor activities are also investigated. Semi-structured interviews, including descriptions of successful activities and reflections on metaphors and observations, were used to collect data. The interview transcripts were analysed using Halldén’s theory of intentional analysis to identify teachers’ intentions when locating learning outdoors. Teachers’ objectives in the cognitive domain were further analysed by Bloom’s revised taxonomy. The teachers have a range of reasons for outdoor learning, including pursuing theoretical knowledge through experience-based learning, exploring real objects using multiple senses, stimulating positive feelings towards nature, and promoting collaboration. The main intention of arranging outdoor learning is to create an alternative learning arena as an important complement to classroom learning, contributing values to students’ learning process. The teachers use a diverse set of outdoor activities. The findings included a typology of four teacher types: one values affective and social objectives and promotes activities to understand factual knowledge, another type stresses activities intended to gain procedural knowledge and emphasizes application of practical tasks. The other two teacher types primarily focus on cognitive objectives, partly to reinforce conceptual knowledge, and partly to deepen understanding or improve strategies to enhance meta-cognitive knowledge. The degree of alignment between intended objectives and performed activity is higher among teachers promoting affective and social goals alongside meta-cognitive and analytical understanding, than teachers who use outdoor activities mainly to reinforce conceptual knowledge. The thesis shows that there is a range of possible learning goals in outdoor education and that teachers are guided by what they value and how they perceive learning.
I Sverige finns ett växande intresse bland lärare att förlägga undervisning utomhus. Detta är kopplat till föreställningar om utomhusmiljöns potential för att stärka lärandet, eftersom mötet med naturen blir mer holistisk. Utomhus är alla sinnen involverade i kunskapsuppbyggnad och erfarenheter genom aktivitet. Enligt tidigare forskning kan lärande utomhus leda till förstärkning mellan lärandedomäner och ge en överbryggning till mer komplext lärande. Denna avhandling, bestående av två delstudier, fokuserar lärarnas avsikter och pedagogiska mål med lärande utomhus och hur dessa pedagogiska mål genomförs i utomhusaktiviteter. Vidare undersökts överensstämmelse mellan lärarnas fördefinierade mål och de typer av kunskap och kognitiva processer som avspeglas i utomhusaktiviteterna. Semi strukturerade intervjuer, vilka inkluderade beskrivningar av framgångsrika aktiviteter och reflektioner kring metaforer samt observationer har användes för att samla in data. Intervju transkripter har analyserats med hjälp av Halldéns teori om intentionell analys för att identifiera lärarnas intentioner med att förlägga lärande utomhus. Lärarnas mål i den kognitiva domänen har analyserats vidare med Blooms reviderade taxonomi. Lärarna har en rad anledningar till lärande utomhus, vilka inkluderar att utöva teoretiska kunskaper genom upplevelsebaserat lärande, att utforska verkliga objekt med hjälp av flera sinnen, att stimulera positiva känslor för naturen, och främja samarbete. Det huvudsakliga syftet med att arrangera utomhuslärande är att skapa en alternativ lärandearena som ett viktigt komplement till klassrumsundervisningen, vilket bidrar till värden i elevernas inlärningsprocess. Lärarna använder en mängd olika utomhusaktiviteter. Resultaten innehåller också en typologi av fyra lärartyper: en som värden affektiva och sociala mål och främjar aktiviteter för att förstå faktakunskap, en annan typ betonar aktiviteter som syftar till att få formella kunskaper och understryker tillämpning av praktiska uppgifter. De andra två lärartyperna fokuserar främst kognitiva mål, dels för att stärka konceptuella kunskaper, dels för att fördjupa förståelsen eller förbättra strategier för att förbättra meta-kognitiv kunskap. Graden av överensstämmelse mellan avsiktliga mål och utförda mål genom aktivitet är högre bland de lärare som främjar affektiva och sociala mål liksom meta-kognitiv och analytisk förståelse, än de lärare som använder utomhusaktiviteter främst för att förstärka konceptuella kunskaper. Avhandlingen visar att det finns en rad möjliga lärandemål i utomhusundervisning samt att lärarna styrs av vad de värderar och hur de uppfattar lärande.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

20

Ruether, Sheri. "Barriers to Teachers' Use of Environmentally-Based Education in Outdoor Classrooms." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5776.

Full text

Abstract:

Numerous research studies have shown that when teachers take children outdoors to learn, children show an increase in cognitive, physical, social, and emotional skills. Few researchers have focused, however, on teachers and their decision to use the outdoors as a way of teaching. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore whether life experiences impact a teacher's choice to not use the outdoor environment. Ham and Shuman's model of environmental education commitment and Kaplan and Kaplan's environmental cognition theory served as the conceptual frameworks for this study. The research question was designed to explore the experiences and barriers of teachers and how these experiences and barriers affected a teacher's decision to use or not use an outdoor classroom when one was available. Data were obtained using individual interviews of a purposeful sample of seven elementary teachers from a large school district in the U.S. state of Georgia who were not using outdoor classrooms at the time of the study. Themes that emerged from data analysis were lack of time in tightly controlled class schedules, lack of administrator support, lack of staff development for teachers, weather, and lack of time to research and prepare lessons. Study findings have the potential to engender positive social change by increasing insight about the barriers teachers perceive to using the natural environment in instruction. With more knowledge about such barriers, administrators may able to encourage teachers to use the natural environment as an extension of the indoor classroom to increase academic achievement and lifelong behaviors in nature among students.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

21

Gorgenyi, Erika. "Közösség model for an experiential outdoor education program in Hungary /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) Access this title online, 2005. http://www.tren.com.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

22

Simpson, James. "Outdoor education as a tool forimmigrant learning: : An action research study." Thesis, Linköping University, National Centre for Outdoor Education (NCU), 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-54690.

Full text

Abstract:

In what ways can outdoor education be used when teaching immigrants the language of their new country? There is aneed to both concretise grammar teaching and diversify teaching methods to bring language acquisition closer to reallife situations. By using action research a collaborative study was made with four Finnish teachers in four immigrantlanguage classes by implementing a series of lessons using outdoor education. Focussing on the teacher’s experiencequalitative interviews were conducted both before and after the collaborative outdoor lessons. This was supported byobservation and student verbal and written evaluation.

Both positive and negative aspects of outdoor education were explored in relation to how effective it is as a teachingmethod and as a method of cultural assimilation and group socialisation.

Outdoor education was found to support a sense of group inclusion and strengthen collective group experience.Difficult concepts were dealt with in a more tangible manner which specifically benefited weaker students. Byexploring the unfamiliar as a group in a supportive environment constructive outcomes were gained. Being outdoorsand using natural materials democratised the cultural meeting. Peer collaboration was demanding but fruitful andshould be used more as a developmental tool in education.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

23

Andersson, Emilia, and Moa Danielsson. "Naturskolan- en metod till lärande? : Outdoor teaching - A method for learning?" Thesis, Mälardalen University, Department of Biology and Chemical Engineering, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-575.

Full text

Abstract:

The purpose of this essay is to find an answer to whether the methodology used by the Naturskolan conduces to learning and also if the Naturskolan, as a method of its own, leads to an increased interest in natural science for the pupils participating in the classes at the Naturskolan.

The method which has been used to reach the results of the study is a quantitative opinion poll. The results reached through the study has been compared to previous research in the subject. Deeper studies were made to examine however the interest of the pupils was influenced by their visit at the Naturskolan.

The results of the study show an increase of interest in natural science after visiting the Naturskolan. It also shows that the teachers’ interest in natural science and outdoor pedagogy has increased by the visit at the Naturskolan.

Through this study we came to the conclusion that the Naturskolan is a good method to learning.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

24

Okaty, Jessica. "The Effectiveness of Outdoor Education on Environmental Learning, Appreciation, and Activism." FIU Digital Commons, 2012. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/791.

Full text

Abstract:

The main objective of this research was to determine the effectiveness of outdoor education on student knowledge retention, appreciation for nature, and environmental activism in a college level course on south Florida ecology. Six class sections were given quizzes on four course topics either post-lecture or post-field trip. Students were also given pre-course and post-course opinion surveys. Although mean quiz scores for the post-field trip were higher than for the post-lecture, statistical analysis determined that there was no significant difference in quiz scores for location taken (post-lecture or post-field trip). Survey results show a correlation between knowledge of environmental issues and environmental activism. Even though student survey responses point to outdoor education and field trips being the most effective method of learning and influential on appreciation for nature, the quiz scores do not reflect such.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

25

Rea, Anthony Thomas. "Wild Country Hall : children's learning at a residential outdoor education centre." Thesis, University of Plymouth, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/480.

Full text

Abstract:

This thesis is about learning at a residential outdoor education centre [pseudonym:- Wild Country Hall]. It poses and answers three questions: • How useful might discursive positioning be as a perspective on learning? • What are the discourses at Wild Country Hall and how are they different to schooling discourses? • How might neo-Liberal discursive practices, including performativity and current schooling orthodoxies have affected the pedagogic practices at this centre? The review of literature provides an overview of the key literature on outdoor, adventure and experiential learning, considering these through the lenses of learning as acquisition, participation and transformation, before discussing the literature on the discursive positioning of identity. Literature on the discursive practices of outdoor centres is then considered in relation to literature on neo-Liberalism and performativity in schools. The methodology is ethnographic. Participant observations were conducted over a period of five years whilst children were participating in both the organised adventure activities and the residential life of the centre. Searches of the centre’s documentary archives, and follow up interviews with 22 children (aged eight to 11) and three adults were used to add richness to the observational data, and especially to better understand reported participant gains. Analysis was undertaken by coding themes in the data using QSR NVivo N6. The findings suggest that acquisitional and participatory perspectives on learning are not totally adequate for explaining the reported changes in outlook and behaviour of the children who took part in the research. These benefits may be more usefully conceptualised as discursively re-positioned identity. It is suggested that the perspective on learning as discursive positioning may be usefully employed by those studying residential outdoor education in the future. The findings show a number of over-arching discourses that dominate the life of Wild Country Hall. These include place - including the appreciation, care of and respect for nature, the sense of awe and wonder, understanding and protecting the environment – risk, challenge and adventure; and consequent confidence and resilience building by children through facing and over-coming their fears. Whilst some of these fears are linked to the adventure activities of the centre (such as fears of heights, water), other fears are associated with the residential nature of the centre; encountering and coping with homesickness, living with new people, encountering strange customs and unfamiliar social practices. So important were these unfamiliar discourses to the participating children that they may be looked upon as ‘rites of passage’. The findings suggest that encountering unfamiliar discourses may explain the efficacy of learning at Wild Country Hall. Some of the pedagogic practices at Wild Country Hall were found to valorise what may be described as ‘classroom discourses’, and these have tended to formalise learning at the centre. It is suggested, therefore, that this outdoor centre has been influenced by performativity and classroom orthodoxy, themselves shaped by neo-Liberal agenda. These influences may be narrowing the range of discourses available and limiting the centre’s continuing ability to provide unfamiliar discourses, possibly to the detriment of children’s learning. The conclusion makes a number of recommendations for policy practice and research. Recommendations for policy and practice focus on the narrowing tendencies observed at this centre, suggesting shifts in policy to retain the distinctiveness of outdoor education centres. Recommendations for research suggest that follow-up studies would be useful to test the findings in other outdoor centres and other areas of learning, whilst more methodological work could be done on memory and data research sites where contemporaneous notation and digital recording may be difficult or impossible.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

26

Christie, E. M. "'Raising achievement' in secondary schools? : a study of outdoor experiential learning." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.643157.

Full text

Abstract:

In 1997 the Education Department of North Lanarkshire Council launched a multi-faceted Raising Achievement initiative aimed at increasing the potential of all primary and secondary school students. The initiative was introduced in response to the Education Department’s belief that the severe socio-economic deprivation prevalent in the district, has had a detrimental impact on the aspirations of its young people, leaving many with limited prospects (North Lanarkshire Council, 1998). This study focuses on the evaluation of one aspect of the overall Raising Achievement initiative: the Aiming Higher with Outward Bound programme. This programme was specifically intended to help raise achievement levels in 14-16 year old students through their participation in a five-day residential Outward Bound course. Every year since 1997, over a period of 15 weeks from October to February, around 25 percent of fourth year students in North Lanarkshire have been selected to take part in the programme. The programme was one of the first its kind to be introduced in secondary schools in Britain and, consequently, provided a significant opportunity for conducting original evaluative research. The evaluation of the programme demanded a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in order to give breadth and depth to the research. A ‘Life Effectiveness Questionnaire’ (LEQ) (Neill, 1997) was administered to all 14-16 year old students in six mainstream secondary schools. The sampled schools were selected from the population of 26 mainstream secondary schools. The LEQ was administered on three occasions (one month before, one month after and three months after the conclusion of the Outward Bound programme). This procedure was followed during two years of the programme and involved over 800 pupils. Group interviews were conducted with a sample of students who had attended Outward Bound (n=53). The 5-14 National Guidelines concept of ‘dispositions’ (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2000) provided a broad overall framework for analysis. This also made it possible to relate the findings to both the experiential outdoor approach and the mainstream approach to education. Although the results of the quantitative study showed no significant difference between the two groups in terms of their LEQ scores, interviews with those who participated in the programme pointed to positive overall effects in terms if the students’ perception of their social and academic skills. The students believed that these qualities have given then the ability to perform better in certain academic areas.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

27

Bergqvist, Jasmine, and Mohammad Al-dyrawi. "Ämnesdidaktisk utveckling genom utomhuspedagogik : Subject didactical devolopment via outdoor learning approaches." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Malmö högskola, Institutionen för naturvetenskap, matematik och samhälle (NMS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-40634.

Full text

Abstract:

Målet med denna kunskapsöversikt har varit att undersöka vilken påverkan utomhusundervisning inom de naturorienterande ämnena har hos lärarstudenter, lärare och elever. Har utomhusundervisning några positiva eller negativa effekter på kunskapsinlärning? Flera studier har visat att utomhuspedagogik resulterar i positiva effekter hos elever. Till exempel visar flera studier på att användning av flera sinnen bidrar till en ökad kunskap hos eleverna. Kunskapsöversikten har delats upp i tre problemområden, lärarstudenters och lärares kunskap och erfarenheter inom de naturorienterande ämnena, relationer och vetenskapliga erfarenheter hos eleverna samt vilka effekter elever får av utomhusundervisning. För att få svar på dessa frågor användes relevanta forskningsartiklar för problemområdet. I sökningsprocessen har böcker samt forskningsartiklar använts. Sökningsprocessen resulterade i att det finns både lärarstudenter och lärare som saknar inställning och erfarenhet kring varför utomhusundervisning bör bedrivas. I andra delen visade resultatet att elever skapar relationer och vetenskapliga erfarenheter när de får lov att ha utomhusundervisning. Det handlar om att elever bland annat får använda sig av sina fem sinnen när de vistas utomhus. Sista resultatdelen beskriver vilka effekter elever får av utomhusundervisning. Kunskapsöversikten visar att utomhusundervisning påverkar elevers kognitiva utveckling, har en positiv påverkan på den egna självsynen (self- efficacy), ger möjlighet för delaktighet samt bidrar till den fysiska och beteendemässiga utvecklingen.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

28

Roberts, Jay W. "Beyond Learning By Doing: Theoretical Currents of Experience in Education." Oxford, Ohio : Miami University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=miami1240251991.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

29

Simpson, James. "Outdoor education as a tool for immigrant learning : An action research study." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Culture and Communication, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-14977.

Full text

Abstract:

In what ways can outdoor education be used when teaching immigrants the language of their new country? There is a need to both concretise grammar teaching and diversify teaching methods to bring language acquisition closer to real life situations. By using action research a collaborative study was made with four Finnish teachers in four immigrant language classes by implementing a series of lessons using outdoor education. Focussing on the teacher’s experience qualitative interviews were conducted both before and after the collaborative outdoor lessons. This was supported by observation and student verbal and written evaluation.

Both positive and negative aspects of outdoor education were explored in relation to how effective it is as a teaching method and as a method of cultural assimilation and group socialisation.

Outdoor education was found to support a sense of group inclusion and strengthen collective group experience. Difficult concepts were dealt with in a more tangible manner which specifically benefited weaker students. By exploring the unfamiliar as a group in a supportive environment constructive outcomes were gained. Being outdoors and using natural materials democratised the cultural meeting. Peer collaboration was demanding but fruitful and should be used more as a developmental tool in education.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

30

Alsford, Joe, Marko Curuvija, and Annika Malewski. "Outdoor Experiential Learning Processes : Engaging Influential Professionals in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för ingenjörsvetenskap, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-4330.

Full text

Abstract:

The sustainability challenge currently poses one of the biggest challenges society has ever faced. With declining natural resources, climate change and a rising human population the need to change humanity’s trajectory towards sustainability has never been more urgent. A greater degree of engagement in sustainability by people in positions of power and influence within society is necessary if this transition is to occur quickly. This thesis explores the dynamics of Outdoor Experiential Learning Processes (OELPs) as applied to individuals from a professional background. The purpose is to assess how the OELP can be designed within society to engage influential professionals in sustainability. The research combines the existing powerful approach of the OELP with the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD). Strategic recommendations are made for how to achieve greater engagement in sustainability amongst OELP participants for a more sustainable future.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

31

Symons, John Nicholas. "A synthesis of leadership and learning in outdoor management development (OMD) design." Thesis, Henley Business School, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.239108.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

32

Galyean, Taylor. "Architecture for environmental learning : a National Outdoor Leadership School in Baja, Mexico." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/66359.

Full text

Abstract:

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1994.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-114).
An understanding of people, program, and place establishes a foundation from which to make architectural decisions. The focus of this thesis is to understand the needs of those involved in an outdoor education school in Baja, Mexico and assemble a comprehensive architectural solution to these needs. The outdoor education school has the mission to be the best source and teacher of wilderness skills to protect the user and the environment. The people of this school share a common interest to live harmoniously with their surroundings and work to achieve a life-style that has a minimum impact on the natural environment. The site is in a desert coastal ecosystem on the east coast of the Baja peninsula. The school is acquiring additional property and has the need for a master plan that looks to their long term needs. The master plan interweaves the issues of building in a small community and the organization of the program with the natural environment. At all scales the focus of the facility is education. Building designs are direct solutions to the needs of the people in this environment. The site embodies the workings of the school and a relationship to the surrounding area. The natural environment does not act as the setting for the architecture of the school, but is seen as the focus allowing the architecture to become the framework through which one observes the natural environment.
by Taylor Galyean.
M.Arch.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

33

Dahl, Sandra. "Utomhuspedagogik i förskolan : Några förskollärares uppfattningar om utomhuspedagogik som ett forum för lärande." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för utbildningsvetenskap (UV), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-28703.

Full text

Abstract:

Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad förskollärare har för tankar om utomhuspedagogiken som arbetssätt och hur utomhusmiljön används, samt hur den kan stimulera barns utveckling och lärande. Studien kommer även att belysa vilka möjligheter och hinder som kan uppkomma i det utomhuspedagogiska arbetssättet. Intresset för utomhuspedagogik har ökat markant och den blir allt mer allmän i förskolor idag. Det problemområde som finns med utomhuspedagogiken är att den lätt kan misstolkas som att vara en ersättning för den traditionella pedagogiken inomhus. Utomhuspedagogiken har inte som syfte att ersätta någon form av pedagogik, utan den ska istället vara ett komplement i verksamheten. För att få svar på frågeställningarna har tre verksamma förskollärare intervjuats. Resultatet av studien visar på att utomhuspedagogiken ses som ett komplement i verksamheten av förskollärarna, som väl kan tillämpas. Utomhusmiljön används på liknande sätt i verksamheterna. På två av förskolegårdarna är mindre rum konstruerade, där barnens intressen och nyfikenhet har utgåtts ifrån. Att förskolornas gårdar används mest är ett tecken på smidighetsskäl. Den närliggande miljön används olika mycket av samtliga förskolor. En av förskolorna går mer till den närliggande skogen, än vad de andra gör. Förskollärarna var eniga om att det finns övervägande möjligheter än hinder vid användningen av utomhusmiljön i verksamheterna. Möjligheterna kunde vara bland annat att strävansmålen för förskolans läroplan kommer in mer naturligt i uterummet, till exempel finns matematiken med överallt. Hinder som togs upp var bland annat brist på fantasi, otillräckligt med vagnar och att en förskola inte hade någon smidig anslutning till skogen. Förskollärarna var övertygade om att utomhusmiljön bidrar till att barnens utveckling och lärande stimuleras på olika sätt. Den grovmotoriska utvecklingen, samt språkutvecklingen stimuleras. Att det sker ett socialt samspel och att barnet kan använda sig av sina sinnen i de autentiska sammanhangen är exempel på aspekter som styrker att utomhusmiljön påverkar, enligt förskollärarna.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

34

Greenaway, Roger. "Powerful learning experiences in management learning and development : a study of the experiences of managers attending residential development training courses at the Brathay Hall Trust (1988-9)." Thesis, Lancaster University, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.244218.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

35

Anderson, Michael Laden. "Investigating conditions for transfer of learning in an outdoor experiential study abroad program." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Arts, Craft and Design, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-6801.

Full text

Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to investigate how teaching for transfer of learning was built into a month-long outdoor experiential education course within a semester long study abroad program and to address the extent to which student perception of learning gains could be transferred for use in future courses and for later in life. From a program planning and evaluation perspective it was also important to determine what types of activities and experiences within the course were instrumental in helping students to develop concepts and skills that could be transferred to life after the course. This research quantifies the frequency and consistency of teaching for transfer events using a tool based on research by a social psychologist (Haskell, 2001) and an outdoor experiential educator. (Gass, 1990) Student perception of learning gains were measured at the end of the course with the SALG assessment tool. (Seymour, Wiese, Hunter, & Daffinrud, 2000)

This research is an ethnographic case study of an expedition field course (EFC) entitled Human Rights and the Environment: Rivers, Dams and Local Struggles at the Institute for Sustainable Development Studies (ISDSI) based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which included intensive language instruction, expedition field studies, and leadership opportunities to enable students to study the relationship between culture and ecology. Students studied problems of a global scale by learning about local issues with the intent that the program at ISDSI aims to “develop committed leaders for a sustainable future”. (Ritchie, 2006, p. 1) It is a response to the call for educational programs in the field of outdoor and experiential learning to examine the benefits and outcomes of course offerings. (Ewert, 1996; Hattie, Marsh, Neill and Richards, 1997; Holman and McAvoy, 2005)

Through a qualitative look at observation data, recommendations were made to increase the capacity for this ISDSI course to promote the transfer of learning. Some suggestions include expanding the use of systems thinking and examples of individuals who are masters of transfer thinking into course design, heightening culture and ecology connections through increased use of guided facilitation, integrating individual goal setting, and expanding internal assessment and staff development possibilities.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

36

Williams, Andrew. "An ethnographic study of outdoor education teaching and learning in an Australian university." Thesis, Henley Business School, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.400954.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

37

Akplotsyi, Richard Stephen. "Impact of learning styles on children's methods of engagement in school outdoor design." Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.573114.

Full text

Abstract:

The significance of children's engagement and inclusion in decision-making has been widely acknowledged, since the enactment and ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989. There is evidence to suggest that despite various efforts to involve children as co-designers, engagement strategies employed in the design of school outdoor environments often marginalise groups of children. This study postulated that effective methods of engagement require identifying and accounting for children's specific learning styles. The research sought to determine whether the design and application of methods of engagement could be more effectively targeted by determining and integrating children's learning style preferences into the engagement methods. A customised Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic (V AK) learning style preferences questionnaire was used to classify children's learning preferences into 3 sensory modalities in a range of activities across the primary curriculum. Photo-Safari, Dialogue and Global Positioning System (GPS) devices as exemplar for Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic techniques respectively. Participants in this study consisted of pupils in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, aged between six and eleven years, from four primary schools in South Gloucestershire, UK. The sample included 151 pupils; eighty one boys and seventy girls. The analysis of the data revealed that preferences for engagement methods differ significantly between the learning style modalities. There was a statistically significant noticeable systemic increase in visual children's engagement with visual methods used (photo-Safari). Children in auditory learning style category had higher frequency and longer speech duration during the dialogue sessions. Mapping of children's spatial exploration in the outdoor playground revealed that kinaesthetic learners roamed significantly and moved towards adventure playgrounds more than those in the visual and auditory learning style groups. The findings confirmed that greater awareness and determination of individual learning style preferences can lead to better informed choice and application of methods of engagement, thereby enhancing inclusion in the engagement process involving children. Built environment practitioners, educationists, designers and policy makers need to be cognisant of children's learning style preferences in the design and application of methods of engagement; so as to give equal voices to all children in the design of schools outdoor environment.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

38

Levin, Emely. "Det vidgade klassrummet : En litteraturstudie av outdoor education & out-of-school learning." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Tema vatten i natur och samhälle, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-104172.

Full text

Abstract:

Litteraturstudien tar sin utgångspunkt i användandet av lärandemiljöer utanför klassrummet. Två begrepp bearbetas: ´outdoor education´ och ´out-of-school learning´. Denna litteraturstudie avser att jämföra fyra centrala studier inom de båda ovan nämnda begreppen för att sammanställa och analysera vad de behandlar. Likheter och skillnader i användningen av de båda begreppen lyfts fram. Förutom detta komparativa syfte är syftet också att redogöra för huruvida skolor kan använda dessa båda perspektiv i den naturvetenskapliga undervisningen i grundskolans senare årskurser. I den första delen av analysen som behandlar studiens komparativa syfte framgår att det främst är likheter mellan de båda begreppen som återfinns, som exempelvis att de berör både de kognitiva och affektiva dimensionerna samt vikten av att ta tillvara på elevers erfarenheter. De båda begreppens innebörder är breda och innefattas bland annat av att förlägga undervisning utanför klassrummet men också att ta in omgivningen i klassrummet. I den andra delen av analysen som behandlar tillämpningar av de båda perspektiven framkommer att ´outdoor education´ och ´out-of-school learning´ med fördel kan användas i grundskolans senare årskurser då användandet bland annat visat sig ge positiva effekter på elevers motivation och intresse samt att naturvetenskapen blir mer autentisk för eleverna. Flera av studierna använder sig av ´outdoor education´ och ´out-of-school learning´ för att belysa miljö- och hållbarhetsfrågor. Fem kategorier som berörs av ´outdoor education´ och ´out-of-school learning´ urskiljs i denna uppsats: elevers lärande, hälsoaspekter, arbetssätt, elevers roller och elevers erfarenheter.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

39

Gemmell, Jon. "The effects of outdoor learning environments on engagement levels of primary school children." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2021. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226152/1/Jon_Gemmell_Thesis.pdf.

Full text

Abstract:

Outdoor Education is colourful and multifaceted with many diverse narratives that account for its growth and complexity. This study has attempted to identify the educational behaviours of students when learning in outdoor environments and determine whether the outdoor setting can influence student engagement with learning. Results suggest that participants do have elevated levels of cognitive, behavioural, and emotional engagement when learning is delivered in an outdoor environment and that they are more enthusiastic and committed to learning. Consequently, this study presents a case that suggests Outdoor Education be considered a pedagogical framework as opposed to a stand-alone subject.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

40

Newell, Eric Jackson. "Undercurrents: The Life Cycle of an Outdoor Experiential Learning Program in a Mainstream Public Middle School." DigitalCommons@USU, 2018. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7164.

Full text

Abstract:

This autoethnographic study details the researcher’s experiences as a high school student and as a new teacher—which eventually led to the creation, implementation, and 8-year life cycle of Mount Logan Discovery, a sixth-grade integrated outdoor experiential learning program in a public middle school. Routine field experiences established academic background knowledge, fostered relationships, built confidence, and provided purpose for curriculum standards. Perspectives of parents, students, colleagues, administrators, and donors add detail. This study responds to calls qualitative studies that focus on how outdoor programs are conducted, the descriptions of experiences and perceptions of students and parents, and how participants were changed through outdoor experiential learning programs. The primary research question was: What are the lived experiences of the researcher as a founder of a public middle school outdoor experiential learning program, from its inception to its closure? Though outdoor experiential learning is the main theme, this study is also about teaching reading and writing in authentic contexts, integrated science, and the struggle for constructivist-minded educators to humanize schools within high-stakes testing culture. From a theoretical standpoint, this is a story of constructivism in praxis. Participants described that outdoor field experiences improved their attitude towards school, their overall confidence, fostered relationships, established a strong classroom community, and boosted their academic performance. Students and parents emphasized the impact integrating literacy with field programs had on their writing and reading skills. Other themes that surfaced include the role of field experiences in building character and allowing students to find joy and happiness in the learning process. Parents and students alike indicated outdoor field experiences had a lasting impact on participants lives. The analysis also identifies six steps for putting principles of constructivism into practice in schools, recommendations for implementing new programs, and components of effective field programs. The narrative spurs parents, educators, administrators, and lawmakers to reflect on what really matters in schools. Until we change the way schools are evaluated, outdoor experiential learning programs like Mount Logan Discovery, and other attempts to enrich students’ educational experiences, will always exist on the fringes and in the shadows of public education, fighting for sustainability.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

41

Cowin, Louise. "Women and outdoor and experiential education : feminist perspectives on encountering the self." Thesis, McGill University, 1998. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=35867.

Full text

Abstract:

Connecting with Courage (CWC) is a three-day Outward Bound self-discovery programme, designed by women for women. It was developed to bring feminist theory to bear on outdoor and experiential education (OEE). The re-thinking of OEE research from a feminist standpoint is less than two decades old. It began by challenging previous assumptions about participants in OEE as male and set out to explore women's different experiences and needs in OEE programmes. However while this new literature criticised the standard OEE literature for universalising male participants' experiences, it tended to provide a universalist and essentialist view of women's experiences and needs in OEE. More recently, this latter tendency has been criticised by a small number of writers within the women-and-OEE literature. This study examines women's experiences during and after four of Outward Bound's CWC courses in light of some branches of contemporary feminist theory. The study employs qualitative methodology placing the researcher at CWC as both a participant and observer, and carrying out individual open-ended, semi-structured, in-depth, ethnographic interviews with 21 women. The study explores the limitations of the standard OEE framework and the women-and-OEE literature. Its central contribution is to show how women's experiences at CWC and their subsequent understanding of these experiences can be interpreted differently depending on the theoretical framework used. The study highlights the potential of contemporary feminist theory in four respects. First it illustrates the value of re-thinking the universalist concept of woman by exploring how sexual identity, as one example of social difference, is relevant to experience. Second the study validates Carol Gilligan's notion of the self as relational while examining contemporary feminist theorisations of the self. Thus, third, it also demonstrates how far more nuanced and rich insights can be derived by employing a postmodern-inspired f

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

42

Huckestein, Stephanie Lynn. "Experiential Learning in School Gardens and Other Outdoor Environments: A Survey of Needs for Supplemental Programs." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32999.

Full text

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to determine how the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech can best focus their outreach efforts to benefit the local public school community. The study assessed the needs of local science teachers and how their needs can be met through educational outreach programs. A self-administered online survey was used to inquire about the use of experiential teaching methods using school gardens and other outdoor environments. The survey was also intended to determine interest in incorporating supplemental programs into the K-5 Montgomery County Public School curriculum to enhance the Virginia Standards of Learning related to plants and environmental science. The survey was sent to 273 K-5 teachers in the Montgomery County Public School System in Virginia. Because of the small number of responses, the results from the survey were not representative of the population, but were satisfactory to gain practical information for this study.

Data analysis indicated existing programs, the need for programs, and how programs can best be implemented. Existing programs consisted of hands-on activities in the classroom including growing plants from seeds and dissecting and observing plant parts. Experiential learning opportunities outside of the classroom included school gardening, observations on the school grounds, and outdoor field trips. Survey respondents indicated a need for supplemental programs related to plants and environmental science. Teachers reported interest in a school gardening program, having a guest speaker in the classroom, receiving curriculum support, and taking their class on a field trip to the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech. Most teachers also showed interest in receiving in-service training to strengthen their knowledge of plants and environmental science. Based on the results of the study, there is a need for supplemental programs related to plants and environmental science. Engaging lessons should be developed to assist teachers with school gardening programs. Experiential learning opportunities such as meaningful field trips should also be developed. Other methods to supplement school curriculum include providing teachers with curriculum materials and lesson kits. All programs developed should correlate to the state-mandated standards.
Master of Science

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

43

Wissehr, Catherine F. Barrow Lloyd H. "A comparison of grant-funded outdoor classrooms in rural and nonrural Missouri schools." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri--Columbia, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/7011.

Full text

Abstract:

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 1, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Lloyd H. Barrow. Includes bibliographical references.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

44

Gustafsson, Mikael, and Rikard Ask. "Betydelsen av utomhuspedagogik för elevers lärande inom naturvetenskap." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle (LS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-28798.

Full text

Abstract:

AbstractOutdoor education is a concept of the idea where you teach matters. This study asks the question of what significance outdoor education has for learning in natural science and how motivation influence the learning of the students.For young students in natural science it is important that they have the possibility to vary their environmental setting to be able to get firsthand and authentic experiences of life, nature, society and culture in its natural place, so that they can use that in their early education. A variety of how the students learn should mix between literal- and sense-based learning. Several of the studies that we have researched shows the same thing, outdoor education has an impact on the knowledge and skillset within natural science for the students. Yet it is rarely used to the extent that maybe it should within education. It does however not stop there; outside education also motivates students to learn both in the outside and inside settings.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

45

McDonough, Sharon. "Adolescents and the extended residential learning program : A case study." Thesis, University of Ballarat, 2002. http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/60404.

Full text

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to explore, through the use of a case study, the impact of an eight-week residential learning program upon self-concept, learning and understanding of community amongst adolescent participants. The study utilized multiple methods of data collection including interviews, focus groups, observation, the Learning Process Questionnaire and the Self-Description Questionnaire II in order to address the research question.
Master of Education (Research)

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

46

McDonough, Sharon. "Adolescents and the extended residential learning program : a case study." University of Ballarat, 2002. http://archimedes.ballarat.edu.au:8080/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/14626.

Full text

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to explore, through the use of a case study, the impact of an eight-week residential learning program upon self-concept, learning and understanding of community amongst adolescent participants. The study utilized multiple methods of data collection including interviews, focus groups, observation, the Learning Process Questionnaire and the Self-Description Questionnaire II in order to address the research question.
Master of Education (Research)

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

47

Norwood, Michael F. "Teaching in Nature: The Effect of Outdoor Classrooms on the Behaviour and Learning of High School Students." Thesis, Griffith University, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/419955.

Full text

Abstract:

Research has suggested that a growing number of students are failing to benefit from the standard education system because they are not developmentally ready for the school environment. This situation results in negative outcomes, such as non-attendance, lower grades and atypical social, emotional and behavioural development. Traditional responses to student misbehaviour such as strict control, discipline, and exclusion, are proving ineffective, and may even be counterproductive. The natural environment is associated with improved behaviour and learning in children and, as such, may offer an alternative approach to engagement and learning in school. However, research to date has been cross-sectional and experimental studies are needed to investigate if a causal relationship exists. Further, disadvantaged students, where the challenges are likely to be greatest, are underrepresented in the research. Thus, the general aim of this thesis is to explore the role of nature in the behaviour and learning of children who have experienced disadvantage by comparing lessons delivered in a natural versus non-natural environment. Specifically, this thesis will address the following questions; (1) what does current research tell us about the use of nature to improve young people’s learning and behaviour in school, (2) how does moving a traditional indoor classroom outdoors affect student learning and behaviour in a sample of disadvantaged youth, and (3) how do teachers and students perceive and experience outdoor learning environments compared to indoor environments. The thesis begins with a review of the existing literature exploring the ability of the natural environment to promote behavioural, cognitive or emotional change in young people. A systematic search of CINAHL, Medline, Scopus, Embase, and PsychInfo produced 59,221 papers. Six met the review criteria which included intervention studies with a pre-post design. Synthesis suggested that passive exposure to nature promoted positive changes in attention, memory and mood, but little is known about behavioural changes and long-term outcomes. It is unknown how these changes translate to classrooms for children, and little is known about how nature might address some of the challenges of disengagement likely to be experienced in disadvantaged regions. Based on the findings from this review, an experimental study was conducted to explore the impact on behaviour and learning of moving a traditional indoor classroom outdoors into nature. Initially, science classes were taught in a standard indoor classroom for 5 weeks; then two of those classes (n = 47; 13–14 years old; each with experienced male teachers) were relocated to a green outdoor classroom for the remaining 5 weeks. The first results paper (Chapter 4) provides the quantitative findings about the effect of lessons in nature on young people’s behaviour and learning compared to lessons delivered in a standard indoor classroom. The measured variables included researcher observations of teacher initiated redirects (due to student/s non-engagement with learning content measured as number of redirects per minute of class), teacher ratings of student behaviour, and academic grades. Students spent more time on-task in the outdoor classrooms at the rate of an extra 20 seconds per teacher redirect, and this effect lasted over several weeks. Although student engagement was rated by teachers as being better in the outdoor classroom, this did not translate to better grades. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed, including the likelihood that the impact of engagement on performance is likely to require longer intervention periods. The second results paper (Chapter 5) reports on student and teacher perceptions of the outdoor classroom. Once the outdoor classrooms had finished, students took part in focus groups and teachers were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Teachers described the outdoor lessons as being comparable to the indoor classroom in terms of learning and engagement. Teachers reported greater comfort in the familiarity of the indoors. However, there were specific benefits to students working in the outdoors such as increased calmness and concentration. Teachers required resources, school support, and guidelines to capitalise on the potential of outdoor learning. Overall, nature exposure for children appears to be advantageous to learning and behaviour. In terms of the theoretical approaches outlined in this thesis, although person-environment compatibility theory and attention restoration theory formed the basis of the research (and much of the research to date), the current study has identified affordances as an additional theory that could aid in the implementation of outdoor learning. In summary, outdoor classrooms may promote engagement and productive behaviour in class, which may eventually translate into better grades but not in the short-term. A punitive approach to student behaviour has failed; it is time to start holding the environment accountable.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Health Sci & Soc Wrk
Griffith Health
Full Text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

48

Price, Alan Charles. "Action research in outdoor learning : promoting social and emotional learning in young people with social emotional and behavioural difficulties." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2017. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7428/.

Full text

Abstract:

This research applies a non-typical action research approach to design, implementation and monitoring of an outdoor learning intervention situated within a UK special school for learners with social emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). The rationale for the research is based upon practitioner assumptions that an earlier skills orientated outdoor learning curriculum was inappropriate and that change was required to incorporate opportunities for the learners to develop their social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. The thesis describes the historical role of outdoor learning in relation to SEBD intervention and applies structuration theory (Giddens, 1984) to gain an understanding of previous outdoor learning interventions. The theory has also been used to create a narrative from which to describe the augmentation of SEL skills within the participant group. It was found that SEL augmentation in individuals contributed toward the production of improved social structures within the participant group. Participant attendance on the outdoor learning intervention is also reviewed in the context of alternative curriculum discourse. It was found that participants had improved attendance, punctuality and motivation on intervention days.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

49

Güdelhöfer, Ina. "Outdoor Education and the Inclusion of Children with Special Needs : A Case Study from Germany." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Nationellt centrum för utomhuspedagogik (NCU), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-129652.

Full text

Abstract:

Inclusion recognises the diversity of people and aims to use these differences as advantages. Since the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009 there have been changes to the educational system in Germany; children with special needs are now attending general schools. This change has developed complex debate in societies discourse and the media. It has highlighted the need for changes within the education sector that support inclusion and allow all students to participate on their level. Within the field of Outdoor Education, learning contains practical and theoretical approaches, all senses should be used and emphasis is placed on students learning from experiences. Those learning methods are particularly well adapting for children with special needs as special education works with direct learning approaches. The place of learning is a key element within Outdoor Education and learning can take place outside the classroom in urban or rural environments. In order to determine if Outdoor Education has the potential to increase inclusion of children with special needs, a study in a German primary school was conducted. The study focused on a single class whilst they participated in mathematics lessons. Interactions were observed between students and teachers during indoor and outdoor lessons; follow-up interviews with students and teachers were made. The findings presented participation of all children while learning outside the classroom. In particular children with special needs showed an increased sense of achievement and a higher level of motivation and concentration in the outdoor lessons due to the fact that they were able to contribute to the exercises. The presented findings show that Outdoor Education has a meaningful potential in order to increase inclusion in German schools.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

50

Mattu, Leanne McIver. "Farm visits : interdisciplinary outdoor learning for primary school pupils and Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2016. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7715/.

Full text

Abstract:

There is concern around children’s lack of knowledge and understanding of food sources and production, and more broadly around their apparent disconnection from nature. Spending time in the outdoors has been shown to yield a range of benefits, although the mechanisms underpinning these are not well understood. Studies have suggested, however, that there has been a decline in time spent outdoors by children. The introduction of the ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ guidelines in Scotland was heralded as an opportunity to address this decline. Although the guidelines advocate the use of outdoor environments, little research has been conducted, and little guidance is available, on how teachers can and do use outdoor learning in relation to the guidelines, particularly beyond ‘adventure’ activities. Farms are utilised as an educational resource around the world. This research explored the use of educational farm visits, as an example of outdoor learning, in the context of Curriculum for Excellence. A qualitatively driven, mixed methods study, comprising survey and case study methodologies, was undertaken. A questionnaire for teachers informed subsequent interviews with teachers and farmers, and ‘group discussions’ with primary school pupils. The study found that teachers can link farm visits and associated topics with the Curriculum for Excellence guidelines in a range of ways, covering all curriculum areas. There was a tendency however for farm visits to be associated with food and farming topics at Primary 2-3 (age 6-7), rather than used more widely. Issues to consider in the planning and conduct of farm visits were identified, and barriers and motivations for teachers, and for farmers volunteering to host visits, were explored. As well as practical examples of the use of farm visiting, this research offers a perspective on some of the theoretical literature which seeks to explain the benefits of spending time outdoors. Furthermore, five main recommendations for farm visiting in the context of Curriculum for Excellence are given. These relate to the type of visit appropriate to different age groups, opportunities for teachers to become more familiar with what farms visits can offer, and raising awareness of the organisations and networks which can support volunteer farmers to host visits.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Outdoor learning'

Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles